The Sopranos’ ‘Most Brutal’ Scenes Had Nothing To Do With Drugs or Murders, Says Star
Michael Imperioli shared that shooting mobsters and doing drugs on screen wasn't as hard for him as filming scenes of domestic violence.
The Sopranos will always be remembered as one of television's most iconic crime dramas, one that continues to be fondly remembered by countless fans and to attract new audiences more than 15 years after its conclusion.
Given the genre of the show, it is no surprise that The Sopranos is full of violent and bloody scenes, with many characters meeting their untimely demise during its six-season run.
But for Michael Imperioli, who portrayed Christopher Moltisanti, the protégé of the show's main character, Tony Soprano, the murders weren't among the most brutal scenes in the series.
He believes that even his character's death at the hands of his own mentor pales in comparison to the scenes of domestic violence, especially those involving Christopher and Adriana La Cerva, portrayed by Drea de Matteo.
In an interview with The Guardian, the actor revealed that shooting such scenes was quite difficult for a number of reasons.
The most obvious aspect is that he had to be really careful not to physically hurt his co-star, but the psychological part was even harder because "you have to go to some nasty places" when it comes to violence against women.
It was much easier for Imperioli to do scenes involving killing other mobsters and doing drugs than the ones where Christopher abuses Adriana because he had to delve into his own psyche to make them believable.
The actor also pointed out the differences between rehearsing scenes and actually shooting them, because when it comes to action, it is even harder to maintain control in the middle of an emotional scene.
Sometimes stunt doubles were used, but that wasn't always the case, so Imperioli had to be extra careful.
While the role of Christopher remains arguably the most memorable of the actor's career, he continues to appear on the big and small screen to this day.
His most notable recent roles have been Angelo Dundee in 2020's One Night in Miami..., Dominic Di Grasso in season 2 of the TV series The White Lotus, and reprising the role of Christopher (albeit as a voice actor) in 2021's The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel to The Sopranos.
Source: The Guardian